Japan's coast guard are holding a Taiwanese fishing trawler for illegal fishing inside its territorial waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Taiwan's representative on Okinawa learned Thursday that the ship had been towed to Ishigaki island, said ministry spokesman Richard Shih (
The ship, the Shunchi 66 was registered in Suao, Shih said.
The captain arrived in Ishigaki on Thursday and the other crewmembers arrived yesterday morning, Shih said, but no more details about the crew were available.
"We are sending our representative in Okinawa to Ishigaki to take care of the crew and to learn more details about the case from the Japanese authorities," Shih said.
The area between Taiwan and Japan includes rich fishing grounds and islands that form the focus of territorial disputes between the two countries.
In related news, officials said yesterday Chinese fishermen hired by its fishing boats will be allowed to stay onshore, starting next month, in order to improve their living conditions.
"For humanitarian and hygienic concerns, we will allow the fishermen to live in on-shore boarding facilities when they are off work," an official at the Fisheries Administration said.
Citing national security considerations, Taiwan has banned Chinese fishermen from staying onshore when they are off work, forcing them to live on vessels 22.5km off the coast. They are provided onshore shelter during typhoons.
The onshore boarding is to be considered a "transit" and the Chinese fishermen would not be granted permission to leave temporary living facilities, the fisheries official said.
The step was also a goodwill gesture to China, which has prohibited its nationals from accepting employment from Taiwanese fishing boats since December 2001, he said.
According to the administration, some 4,500 Chinese still work on Taiwanese fishing boats under previous contracts.
The fisheries sector, suffering a labor shortage, has repeatedly urged China to lift its employment ban.
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